White House Cuts Subway Fund Request

In the first official acknowledgment that Los Angeles subway construction must proceed much more slowly than planned, the Clinton administration asked Congress in its proposed budget Thursday for one-third less money for the subway than it has in past years.

The sharp cutback in the funding request, from $158 million to $99 million, will mean that a subway extension to the Eastside will be delayed at least two years, to 2004, and an extension to the Mid-City area will be delayed at least seven years, to 2009.

The delays could be longer if Congress slashes the administration’s request as it has the past two years. Larry Zarian, chairman of the MTA board, said he was distressed by the lower figure, even though his own staff proposed it in a memo to the federal government in January. “We’re going to have to be bold and direct to make our case” during congressional hearings later this month in Washington, he said.

In 1993, the Federal Transit Administration agreed to contribute an average of $158 million per year to Los Angeles subway construction until 2000, subject to the approval of Congress. Last year, however, members of the House and Senate appropriations committees slashed Los Angeles’ subway funding to $70 million, complaining in a report of poor MTA management and construction failures.

FTA administrator Gordon Linton said Thursday that his department was requesting less for all rail projects nationwide this year in an attempt to help balance the federal budget, and that he proposed that Los Angeles get more money than any other city.

Indeed, Los Angeles accounts for nearly one-sixth of the $634 million requested for 15 projects; last year, the FTA requested $800 million. Metro Rail’s funding mark this year is followed by requests of $63 million for Portland, Ore., light rail and $54 million for a Bay Area Rapid Transit extension to the San Francisco Airport.

Linton, who called MTA board members to Washington in December and ordered them to get their act together amid an embarrassing squabble over an Eastside subway contract, said he was encouraged by their recent efforts to face fiscal realities and behave more courteously toward one another.

To satisfy his demands, the MTA board last month adopted a code of conduct, patched together a new rail construction financing plan that involved a shift of $300 million in funds earmarked for carpool lanes, and finally chose a subway construction manager for the Eastside.

“I have been very pleased by the adoption of the code of conduct and the change in the board members reflecting the code,” Linton said. “That is exactly what we expect a prudent board to be doing: to be acting with professionalism and prudence.”

Still, Linton warned that the MTA should remain on best behavior for the next nine months as Congress decides whether to meet its funding request.

“If the board slides back into some of the lack of decisions and bickering that have occurred in the past, then our efforts to receive the support of Congress will diminish,” he said.

Linton also said federal financial and engineering consultants have been poring over documents at the MTA for the past week, attempting to determine whether the agency really has the wherewithal to finish the Red Line as promised. He said the consultants were due to report back in two weeks.

The MTA has vowed to complete the Red Line to the Mid-City and Eastside if it receives $100 million annually until 2007. Any shortfall from that amount from Congress could result in further delays.

Zarian pledged to try to keep his colleagues in line.

“This is serious. We need to make sure every member of the California delegation knows that we need every dollar that is being recommended,” the Glendale councilman said.